When Chief gave me the mission, I knew I was in for it. Room 4057 was notorious in our offices. Something about the 6th graders had sent most agents like me screaming for the hills. A guy I knew once moved straight to Oklahoma after following the classroom for a day, though he never told us why. I was determined, though, to get through unscathed. 4057 would not defeat me.
What follows is a complete report of the day’s events. Chief will be happy to know that I have, indeed, emerged alive—though it was far from easy.
9:07 AM A girl arrives, late. She looks older than the rest. The students refer to her as “Claudia” or “Claudia the Cloud.” What is this nickname? Is she a cloud? I am confused.
9:19 An older man, “Ted,” introduces something called Morning Pages. The students begin to work.
9:23 The class makes some noise. Is this what previous agents were bothered by?
9:24 Ted sneezes.
9:24 Ted sneezes again. A few students say “bless you.”
9:30 Morning Pages finishes. The class remains silent when asked to share. A pony-tailed girl, called “Naolin,” says she wrote about her trip to Mexico. “Adelina” wrote about birthday parties she has been to. It has been awhile since I have attended a birthday party. Not many parties in the offices where I work…
9:37 Ted explains something about a website, called “Wiki Tiki Tembo.” What is this? I must report this to the office immediately. Sounds dangerous.
9:44 Ted presents something called an “Ethnographer’s Report.” The class laughs at various things in it. A boy, “Robles,” was involved in some incident involving a snack food. “Anthony” says he has “the slips” again. What are these so-called slips? Another mystery of 4057, it seems.
9:54 A definition of “Ethnography Report” is written. It is as follows.
Write about the culture of the class for a day.
Include time. Chronological.
3rd person POV or “Fly on the Wall”
Present it in a fun way.
Don’t judge.
Golden lines
Include writing lessons (this was labeled very important by Ted)
10:08 A missing child, Eric, is discussed. This is worrisome. Where did he go? 4057 can be ruthless, I’ve heard.
10:10 The class begins to work on “Where I’m From” poems. Some new-fangled machine called “Elmo” projects the poem onto the board.
10:30 Ted quotes someone named William Faulkner, who said, “Just get it down.” The students take the advice in stride.
10:40 The class shares lines from their poems. I am very touched. Perhaps I should write one.
10:45 Naolin and Jade echo lines of their poems back and forth to each other while the class listens. I note two of them: “I am the one that started it,” and “I am from the black lines on grilled Brussels sprouts.”
10:47 The class leaves for their break. I follow them quietly, praying they don’t notice me. My cover must not be blown.
11:00 A girl purchases Instant Noodles from a vending machine. A boy purchases Skittles. All these snacks are making me hungry.
11:21 Ted and Claudia gather the students to go back to the classroom.
11:27 The class looks different when I return. Newspapers cover the desks. Paints are in a corner.
11:35 The mystery is cleared up. The students are painting their composition books today. Work begins as the paints are passed out by Ted and Claudia.
11:48 All work had been going smoothly until a bowl full of water and paint was dropped on the floor. Robles and Anthony yell. The four boys rush to the bathroom with Claudia to get paper towels.
12:10 Clean up begins. Students work together very well to clean the whole room.
12:20 Claudia gathers “The Readers” by the door. Ted takes the rest of the class downstairs.
The class is finally gone. I breathe a sigh of relief. It has been a hard day, to be sure, but I did make it out of 4057. However, I would still advise Chief to keep an eye on them in the future.
What follows is a complete report of the day’s events. Chief will be happy to know that I have, indeed, emerged alive—though it was far from easy.
9:07 AM A girl arrives, late. She looks older than the rest. The students refer to her as “Claudia” or “Claudia the Cloud.” What is this nickname? Is she a cloud? I am confused.
9:19 An older man, “Ted,” introduces something called Morning Pages. The students begin to work.
9:23 The class makes some noise. Is this what previous agents were bothered by?
9:24 Ted sneezes.
9:24 Ted sneezes again. A few students say “bless you.”
9:30 Morning Pages finishes. The class remains silent when asked to share. A pony-tailed girl, called “Naolin,” says she wrote about her trip to Mexico. “Adelina” wrote about birthday parties she has been to. It has been awhile since I have attended a birthday party. Not many parties in the offices where I work…
9:37 Ted explains something about a website, called “Wiki Tiki Tembo.” What is this? I must report this to the office immediately. Sounds dangerous.
9:44 Ted presents something called an “Ethnographer’s Report.” The class laughs at various things in it. A boy, “Robles,” was involved in some incident involving a snack food. “Anthony” says he has “the slips” again. What are these so-called slips? Another mystery of 4057, it seems.
9:54 A definition of “Ethnography Report” is written. It is as follows.
10:08 A missing child, Eric, is discussed. This is worrisome. Where did he go? 4057 can be ruthless, I’ve heard.
10:10 The class begins to work on “Where I’m From” poems. Some new-fangled machine called “Elmo” projects the poem onto the board.
10:30 Ted quotes someone named William Faulkner, who said, “Just get it down.” The students take the advice in stride.
10:40 The class shares lines from their poems. I am very touched. Perhaps I should write one.
10:45 Naolin and Jade echo lines of their poems back and forth to each other while the class listens. I note two of them: “I am the one that started it,” and “I am from the black lines on grilled Brussels sprouts.”
10:47 The class leaves for their break. I follow them quietly, praying they don’t notice me. My cover must not be blown.
11:00 A girl purchases Instant Noodles from a vending machine. A boy purchases Skittles. All these snacks are making me hungry.
11:21 Ted and Claudia gather the students to go back to the classroom.
11:27 The class looks different when I return. Newspapers cover the desks. Paints are in a corner.
11:35 The mystery is cleared up. The students are painting their composition books today. Work begins as the paints are passed out by Ted and Claudia.
11:48 All work had been going smoothly until a bowl full of water and paint was dropped on the floor. Robles and Anthony yell. The four boys rush to the bathroom with Claudia to get paper towels.
12:10 Clean up begins. Students work together very well to clean the whole room.
12:20 Claudia gathers “The Readers” by the door. Ted takes the rest of the class downstairs.
The class is finally gone. I breathe a sigh of relief. It has been a hard day, to be sure, but I did make it out of 4057. However, I would still advise Chief to keep an eye on them in the future.